Developer Wants To Build In Denair, So Long As He Can Move Neighborhood To Turlock Schools
DENAIR-TURLOCK SCHOOL DISTRICTS BOUNDARY (CBS13) — A housing developer wants to build a new neighborhood within the Denair Unified School District's boundaries, but he wants those lines redrawn so kids in the new neighborhood would attend school in Turlock instead.
At the corner of the open land, the plans are already up, including the names of new streets and where the 100 houses will be. The developer just doesn't want it to be in Denair.
"The school district boundaries have been in place for decades," said Denair Superintendent Aaron Rosander.
He says the land is in Denair and he's fighting the border-change proposal. The developer fees for 100 homes could be a big boost to the district's budget.
"The development of this area could be $2 million," he said. "That's about 22 to 25 percent of our budget. Our neighbors next door to us, that's about one percent, one and a half percent of their budget. So the stakes are high here."
Developer Ron Katakis petitioned the Stanislaus County Office of Education to change the boundary of the land from Denair to the Turlock Unified School District.
Katakis did not respond to requests for comment on why he wanted to change the district.
Turlock Unified has around 14,000 students, while Denair has around 1,300. More students means more state funding.
"A loss of this magnitude is gigantic to our budget," Rosander said.
